


Sparring Practice

by Stariceling



Category: Tantei Gakuen Q | Detective Academy Q
Genre: M/M, Spoilers, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-21
Updated: 2006-12-21
Packaged: 2017-12-05 13:32:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/723838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stariceling/pseuds/Stariceling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kinta and Ryu's thoughts on sparring, and Kyu's thoughts on, well... the other two. Spoilers in last chapter</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Ryu let out a rather startled grunt as he had the breath knocked out of him. Kinta moved quickly, wedging one knee against Ryu’s back as soon as his sparring partner had hit the mat. He retained his grip on Ryu’s arm, the grip he had used to fling him down in the first place, and pressed the arm lightly against the curve of Ryu’s spine.

If this had been any other situation, Kinta would have been forcing Ryu’s arm up until he had his wrist between his shoulder blades, at least, using arm-breaking force to immobilize him. Instead, friendship collided with fighting instinct, and he left Ryu’s arm in a less painful position. So long as they both knew what it would feel like if he really meant it, he didn’t see the need to hurt Ryu deliberately during training.

Not that he was going to go easy on Ryu. Kinta knelt a little further up on Ryu’s body than he normally would have, his hips almost over Ryu’s trapped arm. Last time he had held Ryu to the floor, he had practically been sitting on Ryu’s thighs. Then Ryu had twisted under him and done some move with his legs that Kinta had not been able to follow from his position and that Ryu still refused to show him again. It had begun with him hooking his legs around Kinta’s and had ended with Kinta flat on his back, shocked by the sudden change in positions and by the feeling of one of Ryu’s knees pressed right up between his legs.

Kinta suspected that part of the follow-through of that move had included a rather crushing blow landing ‘below the belt,’ and that Ryu had only just remembered the restraints put on student sparring matches. They were supposed to be learning how to defend themselves, not deliberately trying to injure each other. Ryu had barely avoided falling on Kinta’s chest when he checked his momentum.

Kinta watched the rise and fall of Ryu’s back as he gasped, trying to regain the breath that had been knocked out of him. His face was turned to one side, and he wasn’t even trying to get Kinta off of him this time. Kinta noted that his face was a little flushed, probably from the exercise. He wasn’t blushing, though. Kinta had seen him blush before, when he had scrambled off of Kinta after almost kneeing him. Kinta wondered idly if that blush had been only because he had been caught fighting dirty.

Other thoughts swam in and out of Kinta’s head as he held Ryu to the floor, waiting as his breathing slid back into its normal rate. He would wait for Ryu to make the next move, and he was confident he knew what it would be.

“You win.” Ryu had gone limp. He hadn’t even tried to throw Kinta off, though the fingers of his free hand twitched slightly against the mat.

Kinta hesitated for a moment. That was it? He always had an odd feeling of regret when they had to stop sparring, it was just so exhilarating, and that match had been over so fast.

Then he snapped out of it and let Ryu up, trying to gloat as he watched the other boy roll over, rub his arm, and slowly sit up.

Ryu was watching him without turning his head, sizing him up. “What did you want?”

“Well. . .” Kinta scratched at a spot on his chin, grinning. They would both be in trouble if their teachers knew they were betting on the outcome of their matches. Just this once, he had said. Just this once he had wanted to see how Ryu would respond to having something extra riding on the outcome of their sparring.

Ryu rearranged himself on the mat, shifting from a rather undignified sprawl to sit formally on his knees, resting on his heels. He looked up at Kinta, his back perfectly straight as if they had been discussing a serious contract. “Tell me.” His eyes caught Kinta’s eyes for a second, his gaze firm and sharp and serious. “I’m ready.”

Kinta felt as if a hot rush of sparks had gone through him. He hadn’t meant to ask for anything special, maybe just to have Ryu take cleaning duty for him later in the week, but Ryu was looking at him as if he was expecting something earth-shattering and was calmly bracing himself for it.

Without conscious thought, Kinta’s hands were gripping Ryu’s shoulders. He thought he saw Ryu’s eyes widen as he leaned closer, intent on delivering something as least as shocking as whatever Ryu was waiting for.

The startled noise Ryu made in the back of his throat when Kinta kissed him made it worth wasting his favor. He watched through narrowed eyes as Ryu slowly relaxed, or at least surrendered, into the kiss. His tense shoulders relaxed in Kinta’s grip, and his eyes slid closed. Kinta couldn’t quite convince himself to close his eyes all the way, he was too busy watching Ryu’s cheeks redden as he was kissed.

Ryu made a soft noise in his mouth, and Kinta wanted to groan back. He was clenching his hands on Ryu’s shoulders harder than he should. He wanted to kiss Ryu harder, to really press down on Ryu’s soft mouth and taste it. He wanted to touch with his tongue and lips and teeth until he knew every inch of Ryu’s mouth.

Instead he stayed as he was, head tilted just a bit so that their mouths fit together. He tried to breathe steadily through his nose, and he could feel the warm breath on his face as Ryu did the same. He was sure it was okay to go on kissing Ryu, just for a bit longer. He was sure he was being undemanding, except for the tiny movements of his lips working at Ryu, because he couldn’t quite help himself.

Ryu made an almost pained sound deep in his throat. Kinta was going to release him and apologize when he felt Ryu’s hand on his chin. After a few shy touches, a second hand joined the first by creeping up Kinta’s jaw with feather-light brushes. The hands weren’t actually holding him in place, but Kinta found it impossible to release Ryu after feeling his exploratory touches.

Instead, Kinta wanted to touch more. The teasing feeling that Ryu’s mouth was moving slowly under his, kissing him back, made him feel that he could take more. He was vaguely aware that even though his hands were no longer folded in his lap, Ryu was still sitting formally in front of him, so that they were touching only with lips and hands.

Kinta forced himself to let go of Ryu’s shoulder with one hand, wrapping his other arm around both shoulders to compensate. He used his free hand to trace a narrow path down Ryu’s back, pausing to rub at the base of his spine before sliding his hand under Ryu’s butt.

Ryu made a muffled protesting noise into Kinta’s mouth as Kinta squeezed and lifted, shifting Ryu up off of his heels. He sat back, pulling Ryu with him, until Ryu had to shift forward and kneel across his lap to keep from overbalancing.

Ryu’s hands deserted Kinta’s face to clench on his shoulders instead. Kinta thought he was simply trying to keep his balance and went right on kissing him. He was gradually getting more aggressive as Ryu allowed himself to be kissed. He was still gripping Ryu’s butt with one hand because he couldn’t quite convince himself to let go.

It wasn’t until Kinta put his tongue out and tried to slip it between Ryu’s lips that Ryu protested. He didn’t make a sound, he just twisted his mouth against Kinta’s and bit down on his tongue.

Kinta yelped and let go just as Ryu shoved hard on his shoulders, forcing them apart. Ryu fell back as he pushed away from Kinta, hit the mat, and rolled as if he expected Kinta to come after him. In an instant he was a good meter away and on his feet, apparently ready to defend himself if Kinta tried to take revenge for the attack on his tongue.

Kinta didn’t follow. He was busy trying to assess the damage, and he wasn’t about to chase Ryu down for something that he had technically brought on himself.

“Damn, it’s bleeding,” he muttered, trying and failing not to move his tongue as he spoke. He could taste the blood in his mouth. He now knew firsthand that Ryu had especially sharp teeth.

Kinta looked up as Ryu rubbed the back of his hand against his lips, then glanced down at his hand as if looking for some visible evidence of the kiss, or maybe just for blood. His attention quickly refocused on Kinta, and he remained still and tense, waiting.

Kinta swallowed hard. Ryu was looking as if he expected to be attacked any moment, and not in the friendly way that they had always fought before. He felt sick seeing that sort of tense expression on Ryu’s face.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. . .” Kinta shook his head before correcting himself, “Well, it’s not like I didn’t do that on purpose, but I didn’t mean to freak you out.” He watched Ryu for some sign that his words were having a calming effect on the other boy, but he got nothing. “I shouldn’t have gone so far. I won’t do it again.”

Ryu had relaxed his stance a little, but his eyes had also darted past Kinta to the door to the boy’s showers and back again.

Kinta didn’t know if this was a good sign or a bad one. Ryu was obviously looking for an escape route. He considered moving so that Ryu could bolt if he wanted.

“I mean, I won’t do any of it again, not that I just won’t go so far,” Kinta corrected himself. He had self control to spare. No more kissing, or groping, or. . . did this mean he couldn’t spar with Ryu anymore? That was a sad thought.

“Kinta, it’s okay,” Ryu said softly, though his eyes darted toward the door again. Kinta didn’t believe him. He couldn’t help thinking that Ryu resembled a scared rabbit at the moment, one who wasn’t about to be convinced that it was safe now.

Kinta stood and turned toward the door, since Ryu probably wasn’t going to risk walking past him right now. “I’ll get out of your way now.”

“Kinta,” Ryu hissed, hurrying after him, so that he caught Kinta just by the door. Kinta turned in surprise when he felt Ryu grab his arm.

That surprise was nothing compared to what he felt when Ryu darted close and licked the corner of his mouth.

“Wha? Ryu-” Kinta was cut off by a finger over his lips.

Ryu’s face was flushed again. “There was a little blood there.” Kinta opened his mouth to speak, but before he could decide which of a hundred questions he wanted to ask first, Ryu whispered, “Not now,” and slipped past him into the locker room.

When Kinta followed he found Hongou-sensei and another teacher who he had seen in passing around the campus but had never actually had a class with. They were obviously getting ready to go out into the training area.

The unknown teacher ignored him and went on with his story, saying, “So I told him, ‘that’s no ordinary shrubbery,’ but does he listen?”

Hongou-sensei let out a snort that could have been a laugh, before turning to Kinta. “Finished already Tooyama-kun?”

“Yes!” Kinta could feel himself sweating as he tried to look natural. “I couldn’t take all day, so we finished up fast, and. . .” Kinta had no idea what he was saying, and part of him was insisting that he wasn’t finished, because he needed to question Ryu. Or kiss him some more. Both of those options were actually looking pretty nice right now.

Hongou-sensei patted his shoulder and gave him a crack of a smile, before turning and leaving the room with his friend.

Kinta had completely forgotten that Hongou-sensei usually came to the school dojo around this time. He locked eyes with Ryu, who had been lurking near the showers watching him, and they shared a relieved sigh.

“I’m sorry,” Ryu started to explain before Kinta could say anything, “But it didn’t seem like you were going to stop any time soon.”

Kinta nodded. “It’s fine.” He really didn’t need to be caught making out with Ryu in the middle of the dojo. Not when it felt like Hongou-sensei already had it in for him.

More important than their close shave. . . “So, does this mean I can do that again?”

Ryu smiled, so slightly that Kinta just barely caught the expression. “We’ll see.”

Kinta grinned. “What about next time I pin you?”

“Fine.” Ryu paused for effect, then added, “But next time I won’t throw the match for you.”

“What?” Kinta’s mouth worked, but he could only make inarticulate noises at the supreme injustice revealed by Ryu’s comment. He had thought it had been much too easy.

“I wanted to see what you would ask for,” Ryu told him. He had a glint of mischief in his eye that Kinta had never seen there before.

Kinta started at Ryu, but Ryu grabbed a towel from the rack and ducked into an empty stall before Kinta could catch him.

“Don’t you dare follow me into the shower,” Ryu warned him.

Kinta pulled the shower curtain back anyway. “I won’t be so easy on you next time.”

Ryu gave him a tiny smile. “I’ll look forward to it,” he said, sounding perfectly sincere.

Kinta leaned forward and gave Ryu a peck on the mouth. He stood back to savor the look on Ryu’s face, and was about to close in for another kiss when Ryu pulled the curtain shut again, right in his face.

“Ryu,” Kinta protested, feeling put out. Ryu didn’t answer, so Kinta had to go and find his own space to shower in. He considered this another instance of Ryu fighting dirty, and he was eager to get his chance to retaliate.


	2. Chapter 2

Ryu had sparred with each member of Q class at least once. Megu, only once. She wouldn’t say it, but Ryu thought she had broken down and asked him because Yukihira was such an unforgiving partner. Megu was hard enough on herself as it was. She might improve under Yukihira’s ‘tough love,’ but she wouldn’t really bloom until she was allowed to gain some confidence in her abilities.

He had started by performing a simple throw on Kyu for her to see, since they had just spent weeks making Kyu practice landing. Kyu should have been able to roll with the throw without hurting himself, while Ryu had watched Megu enough times in class to know that she would tense up and land painfully when she had an audience.

Unfortunately, Kyu had chosen that particular moment to forget everything Ryu had practiced with him. Instead of tucking himself in so that he landed on his shoulders and arms and moved with the momentum, he had landed flat on his face, heard enough to get all the breath knocked out of him.

The entire lesson would have been wasted, except that Megu had lost her temper (at least, that was what it had looked like to Ryu. He was never sure afterward what exactly Yukihira had said to get that reaction), and replicated the same throw he had tried to teach her on Yukihira, presumably from memory. After that the two girls had spent the next ten minutes arguing and apologizing, and Ryu didn’t know what else, with the final outcome that they were finally able to get along while sparring.

It was more than Ryu had hoped for, and he allowed their truce to take Megu’s progress completely out of his hands. Whatever other mysterious set of rules governed their competitive friendship outside class, at least they behaved professionally in the dojo.

This left Kazuma and Kyu for him to worry about. At some point he had taken up the responsibility to keep his classmates safe, right alongside Kinta. The only difference was that Kinta focused on training himself, determined that he would always be able to protect them when the time came, while Ryu wanted them to be able to defend themselves.

Ryu didn’t expect to always be there when one of his classmates needed him. Kinta might be able to manage it, but Ryu had already had a bad enough scare not to risk it. Megu had been kidnaped on his watch, even after Kyu had made him promise to protect her. And it hadn’t just been the promise that made him feel he had let them down. He had wanted to protect her, he should have been able to protect her, and she could have been killed because he hadn’t been there when she needed him.

Unfortunately, Kazuma was nearly impossible to train. Not only did he make no secret that he hated it, but the times that he was dragged into the dojo with the rest of the class were pretty much the only times he practiced. He claimed he was too busy with school, homework, and programming to take up a sport as well.

Kazuma’s only real advantage was that he provided a small, and thus relatively difficult-to-hit, target. Since he wasn’t willing to practice with Kinta to learn to use someone else’s weight and momentum against them, speed was probably his best option. On the days when Kazuma was there with them, Ryu did his best in teaching him to dodge or deflect a blow.

He was far more gentle on Kazuma than anyone close to his level. Not just because he did not want to harm his younger classmate (though that was a factor). Kazuma would have no qualms about just walking away if he felt he was being picked on, and he could be even more stubborn than Kyu when he was in the right mood. Still, that stubborn streak could also be turned to their advantage, and little by little Kazuma was getting fast enough to escape a bad situation.

Kyu was the one Ryu worried about the most. It wasn’t just that he was so unpracticed that he needed to consciously remember what he was doing. It wasn’t even that he was likely, in the heat of the moment, to forget what he was supposed to do. What made Ryu tense was that he knew Kyu was the most likely to rush into a situation where he would need to defend himself.

Kinta helped him practice with Kyu, especially when no one else felt up to facing him. (Some days it was only the teachers who could keep up with Kinta, and they had more hopeless cases to devote their time to.) Kinta should have been the perfect role model for Kyu, but he and Ryu could never agree on what exactly Kyu needed.

Ryu wanted Kyu to know how to block a punch, while Kinta wanted to show him how to throw one. Ryu wanted him to be fast enough to dodge a knife. Kinta wanted him to be strong enough to disarm an opponent. Ryu wanted to help Kyu practice landing safely. Kinta wanted to see him practice throwing. Their disagreements were further complicated because Kyu tended to side with Kinta. (Probably because he thought Kinta was cool, something Ryu couldn’t honestly argue with, but he still resented having it turned against him.) If any of their teachers had the time or inclination to intervene, they tended to side with Ryu.

The result was that Kyu was getting fairly patchy training. It would be good for him once he actually started mastering the random techniques he was being shown, but until then Ryu thought he would be regretfully dependent on them in that area.

Kinta was the only one Ryu really enjoyed sparring with. Their interaction was purely physical, because neither one of them had to hold back. Ryu could enjoy sparring with Kinta on a level that he never thought he would feel while taking great pains to protect Kyu or the others. It was a careless, instinctual rush. It was a rough kind of freedom that couldn’t be found anywhere else.

Ryu was used to sparring with people who were taller and broader than he was, and he could throw an attacker twice his own weight with the proper momentum and leverage. Because of this, he could catch Kinta out a reasonable amount of the time.

What Ryu found disconcerting was that Kinta was usually able to use his greater height and weight to his own, considerable, advantage. At some point Ryu had gotten accustomed to private school thugs, who couldn’t manage much beyond intimidation, but Kinta had quickly knocked that complacency out of him. He had found Kinta was another breed altogether, pure stubborn muscle with intense training to back it up. He could take a hit without seeming to even feel it, and he was quicker on his feet than Ryu would have ever thought possible.

Because of this, Ryu enjoyed the challenge of sparring with Kinta. Also because of this, Ryu found he spent far more of their sparring time than he liked flat on the floor with Kinta grinning down at him.

Ryu didn’t know if it was the thrill of finding an opponent who made every serious match a struggle, or if Kinta’s exuberance was just contagious, but he loved that time they spent together. Especially the times when he had no one else to worry about, and no one else watching the two of them, as if they were going to do something incredible, or possibly just injure one another. Even on days when he really didn’t expect to enjoy himself, Kinta invariably managed to draw him out.

Sometimes, once they had started sparring, they couldn’t think to stop. They would keep going until they were both sweaty and out of breath. Ryu couldn’t even think of stopping until his hoarse little gasps for breath wanted to turn into a breathless laugh of exhilaration.

Eventually, for whatever reason, they would have to stop. No matter how much Ryu wanted to keep going. That was the point he found himself at now, in between sparring with Kinta and resuming his life outside of school.

Ryu still wasn’t quite back to his normal self. His body still tingled from excitement, and he was still warm from the exercise. His heart had finally settled back into it’s normal rhythm, and they were officially done sparring for the day. Or at least done forcing one another into the padded floor of the dojo.

Ryu turned his face into the spray of the shower. He was still a little warm, enough that the cool water felt wonderful on his bare skin. It felt good to wash away the sweat of a good workout, even if he sometimes disliked the finality of it. In a few minutes they would be back into their street clothes and they would have to forget about sparring until the next time they met here.

Fingers ran idly through his hair, though it was mostly too short to need or warrant special attention. It was a nice feeling, and Ryu swallowed a pleased noise as he tilted his head up and back.

Kinta smiled down at him, his fingers still massaging Ryu’s scalp. As soon as Ryu had given up specifically telling Kinta not to follow him into the shower after their after school sparring sessions, Kinta had started quietly inviting himself in. It was a snug fit, the stalls were not designed with waterlogged trysts in mind, but neither of them really minded just how close they had to get to fit comfortably.

Ryu couldn’t help taking a moment to study Kinta, though he should know the sight of his sparring partner by heart by now. Kinta’s loose hair was plastered over his shoulders. Those broad, bronze shoulders that Ryu already wanted to touch. He had learned that they were a good spot to grab Kinta, that one good pull on those shoulders could equalize their height a bit, which made other things easier.

Ryu’s attention was captured by Kinta’s grin. Confident and conspiratorial, it made Ryu’s heart speed up again. It was as if he was back in the dojo again, or at least anticipating another workout.

‘It’s just a cocky smile,’ Ryu tried to make himself think, as he had when he had first met Kinta. The words were a hollow echo that didn’t mean a thing. That thought hadn’t really been valid since they had officially become classmates, but Ryu kept testing it as a base for his current thoughts on Kinta. He wondered sometimes what it would be like not to be weak to the sight of Kinta’s grin.

Ryu parted his lips just enough to take a quick, sharp breath through his teeth. It was a physical weakness, sometimes strong enough to make his knees shiver with its force, but still easy to understand and experience.

Sparring with Kinta was almost the same kind of enjoyment that came from touching him like this. Even when that touch went deep enough to make his breath catch and his heart beat fast, it was still a direct physical reaction. Ryu didn’t have to second-guess himself. He didn’t even have to think if he didn’t want to. He just had to react and enjoy himself.

Now Kinta’s hands were moving along his back, edging them closer together. Ryu touched him in return, scrubbing idly at Kinta’s chest, though getting clean was no longer the first thing on his mind. Kinta’s skin felt good under his fingers, warm and firm.

Just as Ryu was thinking that he wanted more, Kinta moved to give it to him. Their lips met, awkward and over-eager, parted, and met again. Both of them were too fierce with the desire to keep going to slow down and kiss properly. They were always too eager to kiss to do it without noses and teeth colliding the first few times.

It took several short, fumbling kisses before Ryu found their lips pressed together such that he never wanted to pry his mouth away from Kinta’s again. Kinta recognized the comfortable way they fit together too. His hand found and gripped the back of Ryu’s neck, as if Ryu might try to break away from him, while he massaged Ryu’s mouth with his own.

Ryu didn’t even bother with muffled protest when Kinta’s hand slipped too low and squeezed hard on his backside. Ryu privately thought he had spoiled Kinta by not bothering with protests, now Kinta thought he could touch any place he liked, not just the places that Ryu liked him to touch. It was just that Ryu didn’t want to be so wasteful as to break his mouth away from Kinta’s just to tell him to rearrange his hands.

Kinta’s body was so hot pressed against him that Ryu didn’t think he would get a chance to cool down from his workout in the dojo. There was nothing to be done about that. He wasn’t done sparring with Kinta yet, after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place after Hell's Maestro arc and has spoilers for such.

Kyu knew that Kinta and Ryu sparred together after school sometimes. He got the feeling, though he had no real proof, that it was a way for the two of them to work their tensions out. They would both come back to class the next day a little calmer for it. He also knew that it was the first time that they had taken off for the dojo together since Ryu had gotten stabbed, because Ryu had been coming home with him every day.

Not only had Ryu been out of commission, but he and Kinta had alternated, one or the other devoting their class time in the dojo to him, for weeks before that. Now that he had let them down by freezing up at just the wrong time, Kyu felt the least he could do was give them some peace to spar together as equals without him getting in the way.

Besides, sparring was the last thing he wanted to do right now. He was still tired, and also starting to feel a bit sore, after the workout Kinta had given him during class. Ryu had finally intervened and told him to take it easy. For a moment it was as if everyone had stopped to watch, because even though Ryu had submitted to a physical from Maki-sensei and finally been given permission to join the rest of the class in the dojo, there seemed to be a silent agreement that he should not be starting his rehabilitation by taking on Kinta.

Not that Kyu was going to stop him from taking on Kinta, since that was obviously what he wanted (besides, he had sparred with Kinta enough to know that he had plenty of self control and he trusted him not to do anything Ryu couldn’t handle). He just needed to talk to Ryu, to both of them, and he couldn’t wait and risk one of them disappearing afterward.

Ryu had dropped the suggestion that he should ask Kinta about moving in with him for a while. Kyu had been less worried that Ryu didn’t seem to be considering going home than that Ryu was considering leaving him behind. He was also afraid of what would happen when Ryu ran out of classmates to bunk with. Would he be forced go home to a situation that was apparently bad enough to make him run away while he should have been resting in the hospital? Would he disappear entirely? Even if he just felt that he needed to shuffle around and make it harder for people to guess what was going on, he hadn’t talked to Kazuma or Megu about it as far as Kyu knew.

Kinta lived alone. Maybe Ryu intended to stay with him. Maybe him asking Kyu for help had just been a passing whim. Kyu could see Ryu adapting easily to an adult life, getting a job like Kinta and living independently.

The only problem with that was that it made Kyu feel lonely. Both of them had become his close and indispensable friends, and between the two of them he thought there was nothing that was too serious or too frivolous to share. Kyu was sure that if the three of them thought about it, Ryu would have somewhere to stay, and he wouldn’t feel so useless, and Kinta wouldn’t end up being overwhelmed.

Kyu just meant to wait in the changing room for them, so that he wouldn’t get in the way of their sparring. He had sort of assumed they would both be in the practice area by now. He had given them more enough time to change.

He hadn’t considered that they might not be in such a hurry to get to sparring. When he first opened the door he thought Ryu must have been hurt already. Kinta had him backed up in the corner opposite the door with his gi open, his head level with Ryu’s chest. He seemed to be inspecting the place where he had been stabbed.

Something wasn’t quite right about they way the two of them were acting. Ryu had his head back, with his eyes shut and his lips pressed together, trying to hold in the sounds that Kyu anticipated more than heard from where he was standing. Kyu was afraid that his friend was hurt, because he had never seen Ryu make a face like that. He didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands, either. One was braced against the wall, the other grasping at Kinta’s hair.

Kinta, Kyu slowly realized, was much too close to be just looking at Ryu’s chest. He kept moving his head minutely, shifting from one spot to the next. He had one hand inside Ryu’s gi, probably holding him still, the other seemed to be braced on the wall beside him, a reflection of Ryu.

As Kyu watched, Ryu gripped Kinta’s hair and shoved his head to one side so that his cheek touched Ryu’s chest and Kyu could see his profile. Ryu was breathing hard, but Kinta seemed perfectly calm. He smiled, licked Ryu’s arm, then twisted his head just enough to lick Ryu’s chest. His tongue moved right along the line of skin that was no longer a wound, but wasn’t quite a hard scar. He took his hand away from the wall so that he could twine his fingers with Ryu’s, pulling his hand away and going back to whatever he had been doing to Ryu’s chest.

The soft, wet sounds he made gave Kyu all too clear of an idea just what this involved.

Ryu’s lips parted, he shivered, and he seemed to fight to swallow back the “unn. . .” that slipped out in that moment. It didn’t work. Even Kyu heard it from where he was standing.

This seemed to be what Kinta was waiting for, because he stood straight and bent his head down toward Ryu. He was almost completely blocking Kyu’s view of Ryu, but Kyu was sure that whatever he had been doing with his mouth earlier, he was continuing to do it, just to a new part of Ryu’s body.

A second soft moan found its way into the open air, but he honestly couldn’t have said which of them had made the noise. He thought it might have been him.

Kyu backed up quickly, not thinking that the door had already swung shut behind him. It hadn’t felt like more than an instant he had stood staring at his two friends, but now he really needed to get out before they realized they were being spied on.

The sound of Kyu backing up abruptly into the door, not to mention the additional sounds of his heedless struggle with the doorknob, was more than enough noise to make Ryu and Kinta both turn to stare at him. Kyu felt trapped. The one thing he knew was that if he had been in their position he would not have wanted company staring at him.

“Sorry,” he blurted out. “I didn’t know you were, uh,” he waved one arm in a sort of helpless quit-staring-at-me gesture, “I’ll talk to you later!”

Kyu managed to get the door open and ducked back into the outside hall.

Before Kyu had time to even think about getting his shoes, Ryu caught him. He had half expected Kinta to catch up to him and smack him on the head for spying. Instead, Ryu grabbed his arms to keep him from just getting outside and running all the way off of school grounds in just his socks. “Kyu, wait,” he insisted, sounding more panicked than Kyu would have ever expected, even after the scene he had just walked in on.

“I’m really sorry, I shouldn’t have watched, but I thought you were already in the gym and I didn’t mean. . .” Kyu was flailing, trying to get his point across. He didn’t really have any idea what he was saying at this point. He just wasn’t thinking straight.

Ryu had to let go, and Kyu took that as a signal that it was okay for him to leave. Only as soon as he took a step away, Ryu grabbed him again.

“Just wait,” Ryu said softly. He sounded a lot calmer than he had minute ago.

Kyu looked down at Ryu’s chest and swallowed hard. Ryu had left his gi open in his rush to catch him. Kyu recognized the pale, sensitive skin of a wound that wasn’t one hundred percent healed. He also, in spite of himself, recognized the wetness on that particular spot. Kinta’s saliva, all over Ryu’s chest. Kyu knew he didn’t belong in the middle of this. He had been thinking before that he didn’t want the two of them to go off without him, now he realized how selfish that was. There was no room for him between the two of them, and it didn’t mean they were cutting him off as a friend. It just meant they weren’t taking him any further.

Ryu caught where Kyu was looking, and he lifted his hands again so quickly that it was as if Kyu had burned him. He didn’t quite move away, not giving Kyu a chance to make a break for it, but they suddenly weren’t touching any more.

“We need to talk,” Ryu told him. Kyu nodded silently. If Ryu really wanted to talk, he was ready to be sworn to secrecy, or whatever else would make Ryu feel better.

Kinta chose that moment to interrupt. Kyu thought he had probably been standing ready to block his escape route if need be, but he had been so focused on Ryu directly in front of him he honestly hadn’t noticed when Kinta had followed them. Now he reached around Ryu from behind, pulling his gi closed over the wet spot on his chest and tying his obi securely around his waist.

Watching Kinta casually embrace Ryu like that made the neglected, lonely feeling from before rise in Kyu’s chest again. He stubbornly swallowed it.

Kinta gently maneuvered Ryu out of the way, back toward the changing room. Kyu was just starting to follow when Kinta punched him soundly on the head. He let out a thin sound of pain and rubbed his head, even though he had been expecting something like that.

The surprising part was when Kinta patted him on the back to get him walking again. “Little pervert,” he said, sounding more amused than mad.

Ryu did not look happy about either of these things. In fact, when Kyu looked up at him, he realized that Ryu was blushing. He swallowed hard and had to look away. He had seen that usually people fell for Ryu’s cool face, which was admittedly very nice, but that expression had looked so good on him. No wonder Kinta had been teasing him.

Kyu had to stop that train of thought short before he started crushing on Ryu. They were supposed to be friends. Not that that had stopped Kinta, but Kinta really deserved someone like Ryu, right? If anyone really deserved Ryu it had to be him. He had probably been the one to seduce Ryu too, with those wandering hands of his. It made sense. Kinta could make him feel so wanted and desirable that before he knew what was happening pounce! and he would be Kinta’s.

Kyu cut that train of thought off before he could start crushing on Kinta either. He was just confused because he kept wanting to be part of the scene he had walked in on earlier. They had somehow made it look so good.

Ryu looked from Kyu to Kinta, and Kyu thought he looked oddly nervous.

“Maybe we shouldn’t try to talk about it here.” Kyu supposed he had accidentally reminded the two of them that this was a public area. He was sure his face was going red thinking about it.

Kinta checked the clock and shook his head. “It’ll be fine.”

Ryu looked up at Kinta, as if silently asking him to begin, and Kyu felt Kinta’s hands come to rest on his shoulders from behind.

“We probably should have told you, not that it’s any of your business,” Kinta said. He sounded irritated, but then he caught a look from Ryu and sighed, apparently defeated by whatever he had seen on Ryu’s face. “Anyway, we didn’t mean to shock you.”

“No, it was,” the sort of shock that sent pleasant sparks up Kyu’s spine, “my fault for sticking around spying,” for not being able to tear his eyes away. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Ryu and Kinta traded a look over Kyu’s head.

“You’re okay with this?”

“Yeah.”

“Kyu, honestly?” Ryu bent down and took Kyu by the chin to make him meet his gaze. He looked scared and hopeful all at once. “You’re not upset?”

Kyu nodded. How could he be upset seeing that? The only upsetting thing was that he couldn’t be in the middle of it, and that was just downright selfish of him.

“I have one question.” Actually he had ten thousand questions, but he had found it was best to start with one and work the others in later when people weren’t expecting them.

“Go ahead.” Ryu let go of his chin, looking hopeful already.

“What’s it like?”

Ryu started to blush again, and Kyu tried not to smile at the sight. “What? Kissing. . . boys?” He sounded a little hurt, as if he thought Kyu had lied about being okay with it.

“Kissing Kinta.”

Kinta laughed, and Ryu’s blush deepened.

“Well, what is it like, Ryu?” Kinta prodded. He reached down to pull Ryu up towards him and said in a stage whisper over Kyu’s head, “Should I help refresh your memory?”

“If you’re going to kiss someone for your own ego, then show him yourself.”

Kyu swallowed hard. He hadn’t meant to do that. Now they were fighting over his head, only they made it sound more like flirting than fighting, and he was trapped right in their way.

Kinta looked down at Kyu, then back at Ryu, probably gauging if he could ever get away with kissing Kyu as a joke. He didn’t seem to think so, because he just returned with, “Haven’t you wondered what it’s like to kiss Ryu, too?”

“Yes,” Kyu answered, before he could make his voice listen to reason. Now Ryu was staring at him.

“Kyu, are you serious?” Ryu didn’t seem to believe it. He was looking back and forth from Kyu to Kinta as if waiting for one of them to yell ‘surprise!’

“Yes.” Kyu looked up at Kinta, who grinned at him, egging him on. “I was wondering that just now, when I saw. . .” he made a meaningless gesture up at the two of them. He managed to shut his mouth before he said ‘I wanted to try it too.’

Ryu pulled away from Kinta’s hands and moved so that his face was just in front of Kyu’s. They simply watched each other for a few seconds, then Ryu whispered, “You asked for it,” moved forward, and touched his mouth to Kyu’s.

Ryu’s mouth moved lightly against his, massaging his mouth until Kyu was sure that Ryu wanted him to open up. He opened his mouth under Ryu’s obediently, but as soon as his lips parted, Ryu pulled away, leaving Kyu feeling abandoned and confused.

Ryu looked up at Kinta, as if daring him to protest about what he had done.

“I’m not okay with it,” Kyu managed to get out. For one thing, he was sick of them trading significant looks over his head.

“What?” Ryu’s attention was immediately focused on him. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have.” He took his hands away quickly, which just made it worse. “Don’t be angry.”

“I’m not.” Kyu felt so selfish, almost childish. “I’m jealous.” He wanted more of what he couldn’t have. He had wanted Ryu to keep going with the kiss.

Kinta was laughing at him, but it wasn’t funny. He used his grip on Kyu’s shoulders to turn him around and pull him forward.

“You don’t have anything to be jealous of yet.”

And then Kinta kissed him, and unlike Ryu he didn’t hold back. He pulled Kyu up and close, locking his head in place with one hand. He slid his tongue along Kyu’s lips, and on the second pass Kyu reluctantly let his mouth open again. He thought that Kinta would also take this as a signal to pull back, and that was the last thing he wanted right now, but Kinta was so insistent that he couldn’t help himself.

Instead, Kinta’s tongue slipped into his mouth, finding Kyu’s tongue and sliding along it. Kyu was aware that he was pressing himself back into Kinta, not knowing what else to do. He felt a pair of hands settle on him from behind and start to massage his back, helping him get even closer. It took him a moment to realize that it was Ryu touching him, that Ryu must approve, somehow.

Then Kinta caught him by the chin and made him be still as he broke the kiss. Kyu couldn’t complain, not now.

“Better?” Kinta asked.

“Hah. . .” Kyu didn’t know if that counted as an answer, but it would have to do. It was all he had breath, or brain cells, for just then.

Ryu was hugging him from behind, and Kyu thought dimly that maybe, just maybe, there was room for him between them after all.

“Any more questions?” Kyu didn’t know if they were teasing him, or trying to make him ask for more. If they wanted him to ask for another kiss, would he actually get it?

“Yes.” Kyu looked back at Ryu, then up at Kinta. It was almost the same pressing question that had brought him here in the first place, but it had evolved to match these new circumstances. “If you move in with Kinta, can I sleep over sometimes?”

“Move in?” Something in Kinta’s voice made Kyu realize that Ryu had not brought this up yet. “You know, it’s a tiny pit, and there’s only one bed.” He was grinning at both of them now, and he leaned across Kyu to whisper against Ryu’s neck, loud enough that Kyu could hear clearly, “I’d love to have you.”

Ryu ducked behind Kyu and pressed his face into the back of his neck. Kyu felt sharp teeth graze his skin, but he wasn’t sure if this was a punishment for embarrassing Ryu or a reward for bringing it up.

Kinta turned his grin on Kyu, who felt his stomach flip-flop. “Both of you,” he added meaningfully.

It was more than Kyu could have hoped for. He twisted around until he could kiss the corner of Ryu’s mouth shyly, and smiled.


End file.
